Comparison of younger and older breast cancer survivors and age‐matched controls on specific and overall quality of life domains

• Published in: Cancer 2014-08, Vol.120 (15), p.2237-2246
• Main Authors: Champion, Victoria L., Wagner, Lynne I., Monahan, Patrick O., Daggy, Joanne, Smith, Lisa, Cohee, Andrea, Ziner, Kim W., Haase, Joan E., Miller, Kathy D., Pradhan, Kamnesh, Unverzagt, Frederick W., Cella, David, Ansari, Bilal, Sledge, George W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - psychology; comparison of older survivors; comparison of younger; Female; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Mammary gland diseases; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multiple tumors. Solid tumors. Tumors in childhood (general aspects); Quality of Life; Survivors - psychology; Tumors; young survivors
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.28737

BACKGROUND Younger survivors (YS) of breast cancer often report more survivorship symptoms such as fatigue, depression, sexual difficulty, and cognitive problems than older survivors (OS). This study sought to determine the effect of breast cancer and age at diagnosis on quality of life (QoL) by comparing 3 groups: 1) YS diagnosed at age 45 years or before, 2) OS diagnosed between 55 and 70, and 3) for the YSs, age‐matched controls (AC) of women not diagnosed with breast cancer. METHODS Using a large Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) database, 505 YS were recruited who were aged 45 years or younger when diagnosed and 622 OS diagnosed at 55 to 70 years of age. YS, OS, and AC were compared on physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and overall QoL variables. RESULTS Compared to both AC and to OS, YS reported more depressive symptoms (P = .005) and fatigue (P